The best October writing activities are full of fun, pumpkins, mystery, and, most importantly, academic progress. In this blog post, I will share with you my month-long outline of writing activities for October.
So please sit back and enjoy that pumpkin spice latte because I’ve covered you!
Morning Meeting Writing Prompts for October
First thing in the morning, my students have a tiny bit size writing assignment on their desks, ready to complete. This chunked-out weekly writing is part of the October Structured Paragraph Writing.
How it works:
The goal is for the students to write one remarkable paragraph rather than many mediocre paragraphs. Each day the students are presented with the writing prompt and are given “reminders” to complete the day’s task.
The week-long structure follows this outline:
- Monday- Brainstorm and write the topic sentence.
- Tuesday- Detail #1 with supporting information and elaborations
- Wednesday- Detail #2 with supporting data and elaborations
- Thursday- Detail #3 with supporting data and elaborations
- Friday- Write the conclusion and rewrite the final draft
By the end of the week, students have a completed share-worthy paragraph!
The Paragraph Writing Prompts are available in print or digital, including four weeks of writing, prompts.
October Literacy Center Writing Ideas
Sentence Writing Center
During my reading rotations, I like to offer a variety of language arts activities. A writing station is one of my top priorities. The October Sentence Writing is a must-include since many early writers are still developing their sentence structure skills.
The October Sentence Writing station is entertaining and engaging because the unit challenges students to become part of the “FBW,” the Federal Bureau of Writing. Once students join the FBW, they are challenged with five different “missions,” each providing direct instruction and practice on various sentence structure types.
The October Sentence Writing provides five weeks of writing activities covering the entire month. You may find the activities in print or digital versions.
October Pen Pal Writing
A second option for the literacy center is pen pal writing. Within the first few months of the school year, I set up a student pen-pal exchange with another teacher from a different state.
The first letter exchange is an introduction letter for the pen pals to become familiar with one another. By October, the students are ready to move on and send a letter to share a significant event or moment in their lives. I break the writing process down into manageable chunks with small tasks over a week.
If you are interested in providing the pen pal experience for your students, I have a membership created just for you! Click this link to learn more.
Opinion Genre Writing Instruction
My genre writing focus for October is opinion writing. Since football is on television, I have chosen to use my Sports-Themed Opinion Writing Unit. I broke the five-day unit in half and taught for ten days. It just works better for my schedule.
Genre writing is the meat of my writing instruction; therefor is taught as a whole class with many partner activities embedded. Students will engage in activities dealing with the opinion structure, outlining formats, rough draft, revising and editing, and then the final draft.
The focused prompt for the two weeks is, what is your favorite sport to play, watch or cheer for during October? All students have an opinion when the prompt for a friendly discussion.
Balanced Literacy Instruction
During the other two weeks of the month, I still focus on opinion writing, but I present the instruction in a new format, which allows for a quick reteach of areas they need more focus on, as found in my data from the previous genre writing.
For this new format, I use a balanced literacy approach using a literature book as my foundation.
What is Balanced Literacy?
In my opinion, students see reading and writing modeled, share in the reading and writing with the teacher, are coached, practice independently, and actively engage in word study.
My first book of choice is I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll. The second book choice is, Be You! by Peter H. Reynolds.
With each of these books, I can share quality writing, provide opportunities for word study, analyze the text structures, engage in meaningful discussions, and provide writing opportunities that cover all three writing genres.
You can check these blog posts if you’d like to take a closer look at the activities and how they work.
- I Need My Monster Activities that Free Childhood Fears
- Peter H Reynolds Be You! Activities for the Win
Or, if you’d instead go straight to the source, here are the links to my TPT shop.
By the way, there is no need to purchase a print and digital version because all of my digital resources include black and white printables. Yay!
Responding to text
Another vital aspect of my writing instruction is responding to a text. Therefore, the writing prompt may vary from lesson to lesson.
Since it is critical to have a writing prompt for every paper, I have created the Editable Writing Response Prompts for this very reason. I can pick the graphic organizer to match the skill with this resource and type in my writing prompt. The last step is to print.
Like magic, I have a writing prompt with the corresponding graphic organizer to brainstorm their thoughts before writing on the backside.
It is truly my go-to resource throughout every lesson.
Early Finishers October Writing
Every class I have ever taught has students who will finish work quickly and even be quality work. So, to save my sanity and provide a little push towards a higher level of writing, I give an Early Finishers Writing Activity.
For this, I use my October Fold and Hang Writing Prompts. Not only does the writing help students make a jump on the writing rubric, but it also provides an excellent bulletin board display.
First, students love it because it is easily accessible for sharing with the class. Of course, the students want to have their time in the spotlight most. So, with my fold-and-hang method, you can quickly grab a piece of writing for students to share when you have a spare moment or two. (If you’re lucky enough, right.)
Second, students love the prompts and the easy-to-use and illustrate section provided. Each month includes five writing prompts. That’s plenty to challenge your over-achievers and keep your sanity in check too.
How it looks in the Classroom
Here’s a quick calendar mapping of my October Writing Activities. If you’re anything like me and want it all done and ready to go, you can get the bundle of activities here.
Are your students struggling and making very little progress in writing? Or maybe they’re unmotivated or a reluctant writer? If so, I’ve got your back.
Yes…I…Do!
Let me share my secret sauce when it comes to teaching writing to elementary students.
It’s the Sentences, Paragraphs, and Essays: OH, MY! E-book.
Click this link to learn more about how the E-Book can transform your students’ chicken scratch, hap-hazard writing into strong, effective, glorious writing!
Here’s to a “spooktacular” October of writing!
–Melissa